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Christmas Movie Themes

Posted in christmas, WONDER, tagged A Christmas Carol, christmas, Christmas Movies, Elf, Family Man, How the Grinch Saved Christmas, It's a wonderful life, Love Affair, Movies, Polar Express on December 16, 2011| 1 Comment »

One of my favorite things to do during the Christmas season is watch holiday movies. They generally provide joyful entertainment and a fun thing to do with family and friends. On a free evening in December (if you can find one on your calendar) there is nothing better than making popcorn, popping a movie on and snuggling up with hubby, the kids, or friends (or the beast).

I did a little inventory of our Christmas movie collection, and decided on my favorite ones (in random order)!

Elf

This movie, about Buddy the Elf, can be best summed up with his own words, “the best way to spread Christmas cheer is singing loud for all to hear.” And sing Buddy does! He also loves to eat sugary things (even pre-chewed gum in public places). He was a stow away in Santa’s bag one year, and grew up at the North Pole. This movie is full of humor, sentiment and changes in people’s attitudes that can only be summed up with one word … redemption!

Polar Express

Oh, this movie was a beautiful re-telling of the book by Chris Van Allsburg. The illustrations are the fanciful combination of animation and realism that makes you unsure if you are seeing a real person or an illustration. It is a dream about a boy and the children he meets on a train. This boy (the narrator, as well) has begun to question the belief in Santa. But really, it is not just Santa that he has ceased to believe in, it is also a belief in himself. This movie cries … redemption!

It’s a Wonderful Life

Oh the story of the life of George Baily … a true Christmas classic! George’s life is told just before calamity ensues, and he contemplates suicide as a last resort. He feels that everyone around him would be better off if he were never born. As Clarence the angel shows him what life would indeed be like without him, he grows to understand that his life is, indeed, wonderful. A great story of redemption!

How the Grinch Stole Christmas

“You’re a mean one, Mr. Grinch” … I bet you are trying to remember the words of the next line! Oh how mean old Mr. Grinch is! He is out to ruin the entire Christmas season for all the Whos in Whoville by stealing their gifts, and decorations, and lights, and even their roast beast. In the end, Mr. Grinch gets (emotional) surgery, thanks to Cindy Lou Who, that enlarges his heart three sizes, when he learns that “maybe Christmas doesn’t come from a store, maybe Christmas, perhaps, means a little bit more.” And, you guessed it, his view of Christmas was redeemed!

A Christmas Carol

Now hubby would say there is only one true version of Dickens A Christmas Carol (Alastair Sim, 1951 sans color version), but I am fond of any of them. The story of Ebenezer Scrooge, a wealthy, lonely, cranky, stingy, mean-spirited, hard-hearted, tightfist. He spends his Christmas Eve dreaming of the past, the present and the future. Through his trips down memory (and prophetic) lanes, he realizes what he has been missing out on … life, and being part of the lives of others. He mainly learns that it is not too late to change (redemption).

Family Man

I just watched this one … and it is one I had forgotten how much I love. Jack (Nicholas Cage) is a most successful man on Wall Street, with all of the trimmings that wrap a life of wealth … including a lack of real relationships. Then he meets a man who volunteers him for reality boot camp, and he awakes into a suburban home, complete with drooling dog, diapered son, interesting inlaws, and a job as a tire salesman. In this new life he is married to Kate, the fiance from the past that he never married, because he chose his career advancements over her. Jack goes through amazing transformations, and learns deeply about love … in a redemptive sort of way.

Love Affair (1994 & 1939)/An Affair to Remember (1957)

Last, but definitely not least is the movie that was so good in 1939, that is was re-made two more times. This movie is about Mike and Terry, both engaged, but not in love. When these two meet there is something between them that even chemistry cannot describe. The both make vows to make changes in their lives and meet three months later on top of the Empire State building (if you are thinking Sleepless in Seattle … same idea). But tragedy happens. Then, on Christmas Eve the two have a chance meeting, which reveals the truth of what changed their goal. That is about all I can say, other than … it is my favorite movie of all time! I love it! I laugh, I cry. To know that change can happen when one has the right motivation inspires thoughts of redemption.

There is one more of my favorite movies, but it requires it’s own blog post, so stay tuned next week!

You might have noticed there is a theme …

All of my favorite movies have at least a hint of someone being redeemed, changed, made new. To me redemption means hope, and hope means a future. That is what I want, not just in my Christmas viewing, but throughout all of my year.

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Another Nativity

Posted in christmas, WONDER, tagged Children, christmas, Live Nativity, Nativity, The Christmas Story on December 13, 2011| Leave a Comment »

I have spoken in past blogs (Childish Nativity) (Christmas Decor) about my collection of nativity sets, and how I love them. I have also spoken of how very much a nativity depiction by children is the most meaningful to me. Sure, adults can memorize lines and be where they need to be, as the script demands, but really, the first nativity was played out with only the grand director knowing what would come next.

The above video depicts a beautiful Christmas nativity, live.

Sometimes, my words are too inadequate to tell a story. So, for today, I will just sign off encouraging you, the reader to sit back (for only about four minutes) and capture the wonder and excitement that the children in the video share … just being kids.

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A Baby Unites People

Posted in christmas, WONDER, tagged A Baby Unites, Birth, Charles Wesley, Christ the Lord is Risen Today, christmas, Death, Easter, Redemption, Resurrection, Sacrifice on December 12, 2011| 2 Comments »

A baby …

God sent His son in the same form that we have all entered this world. Helpless, small, and easy to relate to by anyone, from any culture, anywhere around our world, in any time of history. I think God knew what He was doing, when He chose to send His son to us, as we have entered the world.

Songs like ‘Away in a Manger’, ‘Silent Night’, ‘The First Noel’, ‘Oh Holy Night’, ‘What Child is this’, and ‘Mary’s Boy Child’ (hum, memories of Boney M … maybe not this song), can be sung sincerely by those who believe in Jesus as their Messiah, as well as by people who simply feel they are singing a nice song about a historical figure.

A baby … unites people.

Recently I was thinking about the baby Jesus as I was singing a familiar Christmas carol to myself (to myself, because anyone in their right mind would never want to hear me sing out loud). The carol is “Christ the Lord is Born Today”, and the first verse goes like this:

“Christ the Lord is born today, Alleluia!
Sons of men and angels say, Alleluia!
Raise your joys and triumphs high, Alleluia!
Sing, ye heav’ns, and earth, reply, Alleluia!”

When I sought the rest of the lyrics, I realized that I had the lyrics wrong. The song is actually, “Christ the Lord is Risen Today.” I had gotten Christmas confused with Easter, I had gotten birth confused with death and resurrection.

But did I?

This tortured and bloodied man, was drawn into the blueprints before Mary was ‘with child.’ This picture, this messy, bloody, sickening picture, is why the baby was conceived and born. He, the baby we place (and, to be honest, we leave there, from Christmas, to Christmas, to Christmas) in the manger, was our sacrificial lamb, our redeemer. He, that baby in Mary’s arms, was to pay for the sins of the world, for the sins of me.

But, a bloodied man, dying on a cross … divides people.

God knew what He was doing, when He chose to bring the Messiah to us in the form of a baby. He knew that we could never fully grasp the way that we would be redeemed, saved. He knew what He was doing, and He still does.

One of my favorite artists of today, Ron DiCianni, created the painting to the right. To quote it’s description, “Heaven’s Loss dramatically depicts that while mankind was celebrating the birth of a King, the angels were weeping for they knew what man did not. They knew Jesus was not born for Christmas – He was born for Easter.”

Charles Wesley also understood the price paid for his own redemption, when he wrote this hymn nearly two hundred and fifty years ago. Maybe it is not so wrong to sing it as we celebrate the birth of the one who did the loving, redeeming sacrificial act, and not just at Easter.

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The Little Drummer Boy

Posted in christmas, WONDER, tagged Christ, christmas, drummer, messenger, Sean Quigley, The Little Drummer boy, Winnipeg, Youtube on December 6, 2011| Leave a Comment »

Confession time … I do not like the Little Drummer Boy Christmas song. W A Y back when I was a kid it was my favorite song, and favorite Christmas TV special. But, as I got older my fondness for it has waned dramatically … until now.

Last week (November 30) a young man from Winnipeg, Manitoba posted his version on Youtube which has gone viral (as of today it has just under two hundred thousand hits … only four days after being posted). This version is changing my perspectives towards the Little Drummer Boy song.

Sean Quigley, a sixteen year old high school student designed the arrangement. He directed, edited, recorded, and played instruments, as well as mixed it into what you can view above. WOW!

I have to say I totally love the rockier, modern version he has created. It is fun, and demands a response of toe tapping at the very least.

As I watched I was awed by his gifts, I was moved by his passion, and I was curious about his motivation. Did he know of what, and of who he was singing? Was it just a song? Or was he, like the little drummer boy he was belting out lyrics about, a poor boy with nothing to give but that which God put within him, in the form of his gifts and talents?

When an interviewer told Sean Quigley that Justin Bieber started this (Youtube) way, and asked if he dreams the same for himself, Sean responded this way:

“I wouldn’t say that being recognized is the dream. I just want people to remember what Christmas is about. It’s not about Santa, it’s not about presents, it’s about the birth of Christ, and that’s whats most important to me right now.”

YES! The message, and the messenger are in sync!

Somehow knowing that makes the validity, the power of his expression of his gifts all the more beautiful, knowing that he is acknowledging not just his gifts, but the giver of those same gifts, talents and abilities. And he is quite literally playing out the lyrics the song ends with.

“I played my drum for him,
I played my best for him,

Then he smiled at me, (Pa rum pum pum pum)
Me and my drum”

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Christmas Cookies and a Carol

Posted in christmas, WONDER, tagged christmas, Christmas Cookies, Isaiah 7:14, Lament, Oh Come Emmanuel, Sugar Cookies, Waiting on December 5, 2011| Leave a Comment »

Is there any edible token of the Christmas season that is more common than the sugar cookie, cut out and decorated festively?

The other day was Christmas cookie baking and decorating day. I had made the dough, and icing of various colors.

Only our youngest daughter, and our student from China decided to participate in this event. Our daughter from China was so excited to be making Christmas cookies for the first time. First time experiences create an atmosphere that just makes you want to be around.

Over a period of about two hours, the two girls (plus periodic visiting participants) rolled, cut out, baked and decorated about four dozen cookies. They chatted, giggled, gave each other decorating advice, sang Christmas songs, and compared their creations.

What a beautiful thing to have opportunity to introduce and share in the first experiences of our sweet girl from China. To see her excitedly jumping up and down, awaiting for everything to be ready to make cut out cookies for the first time gave our home a feel of excitement liken to … Christmas.

Christmas is a time of excitement, a time of wonder and anticipation. That is why, at this season, we sing “Oh Come, Oh Come Emmanuel.” Isaiah 7:14 is where this beautiful, ages old Christmas carol originates. It states, “Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel.” And the excitement for the coming Messiah began.

This carol communicates lament, or mourning. And yet, it is a most popular of all hymns of the advent season. A season of anticipation, of wonder of … excitement. What a contrast it is to pair lamenting and anticipation. But, truly we lament, we mourn most productively when we acknowledge that our mourning is for a season, and that God’s providential hand will, indeed, work it all our for the greater good.

And what better good could there be than Emmanuel, the one who came to save. The one that was anticipated, as Israel mourned her loses.

When we sing Oh Come, Oh Come Emmanuel this season, may we do so with the excitement and anticipation (and wonder) of our young girl from China, who couldn’t wait for the time to make sugar cookies. May we sing with our mouths, and with our hearts, “Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel shall come to thee, O Israel.”

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What Can I Give Him?

Posted in christmas, WONDER, tagged Christina Rossetti, christmas, In the Bleak Midwinter, Poem, What Can I Give Him on December 1, 2011| 2 Comments »

I remember a Christmas ‘pageant’ where I did a ‘recitation’ when I was still a preschooler. It was at the church of my grandmother, and it was she who taught the poem to me. I remember how very many people were staring back at me (the church probably doesn’t hold more than seventy people, but as a preschooler, it seemed like hundreds). I also remember her voice whispering the lines to me (memorizing has never been a strength for me).

The poem I had recited many years ago, was the final verse of a poem written by Christina Rossetti. Later music was added and it is known as the Christmas carol ‘In the Bleak Midwinter’. The poem goes as follows:

In the bleak midwinter frosty wind made moan,
Earth stood hard as iron, water like a stone:
Snow had fallen, snow on snow
Snow on snow,
In the bleak mid-winter,
Long ago.

Our God, heaven cannot hold him nor earth sustain;
Heaven and earth shall flee away when he comes to reign:
In the bleak mid-winter
A stable-place sufficed
The Lord God Almighty
Jesus Christ.

Enough for him, whom cherubim worship night and day,
A breastful of milk, and a mangerful of hay:
Enough for him, whom angels
Fall down before,
The ox and ass and camel
Which adore.

Angels and archangels may have gathered there,
Cherubim and seraphim thronged the air –
But only his mother
In her maiden bliss
Worshipped the beloved
With a kiss.

What can I give him, poor as I am?
If I were a shepherd I would bring a lamb;
If I were a wise man
I would do my part;
Yet what I can, I give him –
Give my heart.

The final (bolded) lines are from my recitation of many years ago (the fact that this is called a ‘recitation’ is evidence of that fact). And, although I was not so very successful at memorizing them, they have stayed with me for all of my life. There is something beautiful, dreamy and haunting about both the poem, and the music that was added to it. I have to say my favorite version is by Sarah McLaughlin, a few years ago, on her Wintersong CD.

Although this is not just a question of Christmas, I am asking myself this season the same question that Ms. Rossetti asked of herself. What can I give him, poor as I am?

If I were a poet, I would write him a song.

If I were a carpenter, I would build him a home,

If I were …

But all he wants,

Is my heart,

And your heart.

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Christmas Gift Ideas for Kids

Posted in christmas, WONDER, tagged Books, christmas, Christmas Gifts, Gift Ideas for Kids, Literary Geniuses, Used Books on November 29, 2011| 4 Comments »

As Christmas approaches stress increases and money decreases. It is tough to feel adequate, as a parent, in finding gifts for your children that are meaningful, enjoyable and low cost. Years ago, I heard of an idea for gift giving that has become one of the favorite traditions in our household.

I do not remember where this idea came from, and I am not sure exactly when we began the tradition. All I remember is that it started when our children were very young, that we were living off of one income, and that it was an instant success.

The idea is a box of books.

I bet you are seeing dollar signs right now, because anyone who has bought a new book lately knows that they are not an inexpensive purchase. But, I did not say a box of new books! 😉

Each year, when I am in thrift stores, used book stores and at garage sales I collect books for each of our three kids. I bring them home and put them in a box that I have hidden somewhere in our house (I leave it in the same place every year, or else I would never remember where I left it … I am just that old). I have never spent much for any individual book, and sometimes they have been as ~~cheap~~ inexpensive as five cents.

Our kid’s interests are pretty simple. One loves period pieces, anything about princesses, historical female figures, pop culture and psychology. One loves animal stories, romantic novels, craft books, as well as hair and beauty information books. Our third does not love reading (sigh), but he loves picture books, information books, history and sports (in picture-story form). I also include lots of books on cassette (yes, they still exist … and they are cheap) and CD, of classic tales so that our non-reader-lover can still benefit from the literary geniuses of the past.

Our kids do not get the latest and greatest books from the bookstores. But, if I stick to their individual interests, they are usually a hit.

The part of the annual box of books that our family has added is when our kids get this gift.

Every year, on Christmas Eve day, once our kids are up, dressed, and have their bedrooms cleaned they get their box of books. This ritual means that they often help each other out in cleaning rooms, so as to expediate the receiving of their gifts. It has been a rare occasion that the preliminary tasks take beyond noon.

Once their jobs are done, I simply place the box on the floor, with the three sitting there like our beast awaiting a treat. Once they open the top, giggles, joyful shouts and “look at this” are heard as they seek and discover what is contained and who each book is intended for. Then, silence fills the room … for hours.

When our kids were younger it was the one thing that would calm the over-the-top excitement and anticipation that are such a common part of awaiting the arrival of Saint Nick.

Not once did they ever complain because they were not new, had the name of someone else in the front cover, or still had the original price sticker from 1979.This is one of their favorite Christmas traditions. I bet it is one that they all continue as they grow up and go off to start their own traditions one day (hopefully not too soon).

Some of my greatest memories are of watching wonder fill their faces as they explored dusty, used books that were reborn, and became new in their hands and in their minds.

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Christmas is Coming …

Posted in christmas, life, WONDER, tagged christmas, Christmas is Coming, Giving, God Bless You, The Poor, The Widow's Mite on November 28, 2011| Leave a Comment »

With the start of the Christmas season being underway, here in North America, it is difficult to not think about all that fills the season. For the next few weeks, my blog posts will be directed towards this festive season.

My hubby has introduced me to so much Christmas sub-culture that I was unaware of before. And, since meeting him, when I think of Christmas the first thing that pops into my head is the following poem he taught me:

Christmas is coming, the geese are getting fat

Please put a penny in the old man’s hat

If you haven’t got a penny, a ha’penny will do

If you haven’t got a ha’penny, then God bless you!

This little ditty is known as a poem, and a Christmas Carol, but more frequently as a nursery rhyme. The author’s name is unknown. In the late nineteenth century, the music for the song was composed by Edith Nesbit Bland. It’s simple rhyme scheme makes it easy to remember, and it’s message is one which is timeless, and so it has been easily handed down for well over one hundred years.

The language of the poem takes me to the time of Ebeneezer Scrooge, perhaps during the Industrial Revolution (late eighteenth to mid. nineteenth century), when child labor and beggars or every age were a norm. I have in my mind a picture of a weathered old man saying this rhyme with a Cockney English accent, while holding out his tattered hat to passers-by.

The words of this well quoted verse remind us of the approach of the season that is indicated, not just by the calendar, but also the girth of the geese. They are fattening up for the seasonal feasts. I wonder, though, if perhaps the unknown writer was thinking more about our girths? And how fat with wealth we are? Because the following line states, “please put a penny in the old man’s hat.”

This poem was written before social services, before old age pension, before any state run social assistance. The old who never had money to put aside when they were younger and working were either taken in by family, or lived on the streets. Today, there are still people on the streets, or one pension cheque away from it. And we should never be so gullible as to think that the helps we have today will always be here for us (or our children). In this time of economic woes in countries near and far, the future is not easy to forecast for any of us.

So, give to those who are in need! You and I have plenty! We have been given much!

And, as the next verse states, it doesn’t have to be a large amount. Give, not from your great wealth, but from your heart and with an attitude of gifting. Much like the the story of the gift of the widow at the temple. She gave her two last coins, which were really almost useless, but they were all she had. You do not have to give a large amount (of course … she only had two coins, and she gave both … she could have given one, and kept one … just sayin’).

And then the last verse ends the plea for help, with “If you haven’t got a ha’penny, then God bless you!”

Speak to untouchable, unclean, ‘unbeautiful’ people. Greet older people with a smile, hold a door for them, say ‘God Bless you’ to them. You might make their day, their holiday season one of hope.

God bless you, as you enter into this season.

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